SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK, Calif. July 3, 2019 - Following consultations with park leadership and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District, a start date has been established for the upcoming Sherman Prescribed Burn in the Giant Forest area of Sequoia National Park. Ignitions are scheduled to begin on the morning of Monday, July 8, and continue for as long as five days, depending upon conditions.
The 245-acre Sherman Prescribed Burn unit is located roughly half of a mile northeast of the Giant Forest Museum, and consists of four segments on both sides of the Generals Highway. Atmospheric conditions may play a role in determining acreage to be burned each day, or the number of days of ignitions. Access to the General Sherman Tree will not be limited by the burn.
“Prescribed burns are of critical importance to effective land management," says Kelly Singer, Sequoia National Park Fire Management Officer. “In California, it is not a matter of IF an area will burn, but of WHEN it will burn. Prescribed burns allow fire managers to manage risk by choosing the timing."
Visitors to the area on ignition days should expect 30-minute traffic delays related to the burn, as well as moderate smoke impacts in the Giant Forest, General Sherman Tree, and Lodgepole areas. At night, smoke may be discernible in the parks’ lower elevations and in Three Rivers, CA. Visitors can learn more about air quality and smoke by visiting www.airnow.gov or www.valleyair.org.
A few trails that enter the burn area, including the Congress Trail, will be closed during ignitions and the burn-down period, and will be clearly marked. Many other trails in the area that offer a comparable experience will be open without restriction. For more information on this prescribed burn, visit https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6245/.
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About Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks Fire Management Program
For over fifty years, our mission has been to use the full range of options and strategies available to manage fire in the parks. This includes protecting park resources, employees, and the public from unwanted fire; building and maintaining fire resilient ecosystems; reducing the threat to local communities from wildfires emanating from the parks or adjacent lands; and recruiting, training, and retaining a professional fire management workforce.
Source: U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service
